


The Rebellious Bird

by thats_a_secret



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, I'll add the main ones as they appear in the fic, even though i was inspired by the most romantic opera ever aka Carmen, it's platonic/familial love, plz note when I use the word love, too many characters to tag lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 18:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20821952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thats_a_secret/pseuds/thats_a_secret
Summary: Doflamingo found Sugar before he found the Ope Ope Fruit. Now, the Donquixote Family’s terrifying Corazon is on a mission to hunt down the Strawhat Pirates, but a toy bird called Rosi is on a mission of his own.





	The Rebellious Bird

**Author's Note:**

> look i know i have so many other fics and ideas and i'm several years late to the dressrosa hype train and i should really be studying instead, but i have zero control of my hyperfixations and hhhhhh a Corazon!Law au AND a Corazon Lives au??? I mean how could I possibly resist
> 
> this fic will explore law's more emotional side, which i feel like is underappreciated in fandom, even though the intro to dressrosa and law's whole arc was like: "The Land of Passion and Love!!! Buckle In!!!" i apologize in advance if i never finish the second chapter.

Love is a rebellious bird  
that nobody can tame. 

\--_Carmen_, “The Habanera” 

* * *

The island of Dressrosa brimmed with music, dancing, and the sweet scent of saffron. Children played with living toys, men sang songs of the gladiator’s glory, and women sighed at sailors and told stories of great romances. There was one man in particular that the girls liked to swoon about, the mischievous young prince who frequented their shores, who was the apple of their King’s eye.

Corazon, the people called him. King Doflamingo’s Heart.

The girls looked at his dark, handsome face and saw something funny, something sad, and were drawn to him like moths to a flame. But the older women knew better. They sensed almost instinctively that Corazon was something cold, and cruel, and broken. They looked into his eyes and saw a man teetering precariously on the knife’s edge between hate and love. They breathed a sigh of relief that Corazon rarely mingled with the townsfolk, choosing instead to slip into and out of the palace like a smiling, disquieting ghost before wandering the seas again.

_Nothing in this world_, they cautioned their daughters, who only laughed, not understanding yet, though always too late they would learn—_nothing is more dangerous than a broken heart_.

* * *

The sound of running feet over the submarine’s wooden deck. “Captain!” Shachi and Penguin called, talking over each other in their excitement. “We’re here!”

Law cracked open his eyes. Under him, Bepo muttered sleepily. Dressrosa’s knobby cliffs loomed overhead. The submarine was passing under the great stone arch, up into the island inlet that served as Acacia’s harbor. As they cruised into the busy port, people in nearby ships and on the shore cried out and swarmed to welcome him. Someone hurried to bring the news of his return to the Family. They cleared his customary spot in the port and scattered rose petals on the road he always took to the palace. When his crew docked and stepped onto land, there was a soft carpet of red underneath his black boots.

The toys gathered around, bowing slavishly and chittering with their plastic joy. “He’s back! He’s back! The Prince has returned!” they chorused.

“Home sweet home,” Law said sarcastically, and smiled.

Good old Dressrosa. It never changed.

Law gave his crew free reign to explore town, and then made his way toward the palace alone. Baby 5 and Buffalo came to find him soon enough.

“Corazon! Where have you been!” Baby whined, jumping off Buffalo’s flying body to land in front of him. Buffalo followed with a heavy thud.

“Baby 5, Buffalo. So nice to see you again,” he said, not even trying to sound sincere.

Baby persisted. “You were away for so long, the Family was getting worried!”

“Why should they worry?” Law said dismissively.

“It’s been over two years since you last came home! That’s the longest it’s ever been. And you never write,” Baby pouted. “I thought something might have happened to you, and I’d never know.”

Law glared at her. She shrank back. Still worked every time. Smirking a little, he turned away. “I can take care of myself.”

“But where have you been?” Buffalo half-shouted, hovering obnoxiously. Law always found his breathing too loud. “Why couldn’t you come back sooner?”

“I’m back now, aren’t I? Besides, you have my vivre card. It’s not like the rest of the Family stays in Dressrosa all the time anyways.”

“Yeah, but you’re not the rest of the Family.” There was an edge to Buffalo’s voice when he said that, something a little threatening. “You’re one of the executives. You’re the _Heart_. But _I’m_ here more than you are!”

Law raised his eyebrows. “Are you jealous, Buckteeth-ya?” Buffalo sputtered a denial.

But Law understood. The other executives had never really gotten over Law getting the Heart seat. _They _were permanent fixtures in the throne room of Dressrosa, bending over backwards to fulfil the Family’s every need. And the Family’s needs were endless, bottomless. But Law found that the seas called to him. He liked not having to answer to anyone else, liked being free of the boorish palace politics that Trebol loved so much. The crew Law had chosen technically belonged to the Heart Army, but Law knew they were more loyal to him than to the Family—yet another reason for the others to mistrust him. It could potentially be a problem, when the time came.

But not a problem yet. He had time yet to indulge himself. He deserved that much at least, for what must eventually come to pass.

Law smiled. “I’ll always come back here, you know,” he said quietly. “Always.” He turned to look at the palace. “Is he in?”

Baby perked up. “Yes! He just arrived a few days ago from a mission. Would you like me to show you where he is?”

“No,” said Law, a little cruelly. Baby’s mouth wobbled. “I can find him on my own.”

The other three executives were conveniently gathered in the throne room when Law entered the palace. Law paused at the closed door and listened to their anxious yammering—they were having a meeting. About something dull, no doubt. Law smirked, and decided to show off a little of what he’d learned these past two years.

“Room,” he whispered.

A blue film passed over the throne room. Pica squeaked, piercingly high. “Oh shit,” Diamante said.

“_Corazon_,” Trebol bellowed, “_don’t you dare!_”

Law’s smirk grew. “Shambles.”

And then he threw open the doors and strode into the throne room. “Good evening,” he said politely. “What a surprise, you’re all here.”

“Corazon!” Pica howled. “What did you just do!? Why is my voice so high!?”

“Always making trouble—” Trebol tried to take a step forward and tripped head over heels into a pile of his own goo.

Diamante growled, and thrust his hand at the ground. It smacked into the rock floor with a _crunch_. “Ow! What!?”

Law cocked his head. “What’s the matter, you three? You’re acting a little strange.”

“He took my Devil Fruit ability!” Diamante turned and saw Pica. “Hey! That’s me! You made another me!”

“What? No! I’m me, I’m Trebol!” Pica squeaked. “Did he knock the brains out of you, Diamante?”

Trebol groaned on the floor, catching on fast. “Trebol, your body is disgusting,” he said. “Look at yourselves already, idiots.”

Diamante and Pica—or rather, Pica and Trebol—looked down at themselves, and their eyes widened simultaneously with comical horror. They swiveled to stare at Law.

“Did you just—!?”

Law grinned at them. “Don’t worry, it’s just your souls. I swapped them. I’ll return you to your own bodies…eventually.”

The three of them flailed, falling over themselves to try and get at him. “_Corazon!_”

Laughing, Law Shambled away. He took the stairs up two at a time, still hearing the panicked yelling of his fellow executives. That was the annoying ones taken care of. On the fourth floor, he paused to catch his breath. He took a moment to straighten his hat and fluff out the black feathers in his hoodie. Then he opened the door.

Light spilled in from the setting sun, illuminating the messy desk filled with newspapers and documents. And there was the King himself, perched on a window with a bottle of wine in his hand. His enormous pink feather coat trembled slightly with low laughter.

“Corazon!” Doflamingo said. “I’ve missed your jokes! Let the others run around for a bit—share a drink with me.”

There was a second bottle of wine on the windowsill. It was like he knew what Law had been doing, like he could read his mind from afar. Law propped Kikoku against the wall and joined him in the window. He examined what vintage the wine was and then, pleased, he Shambled a pair of wine glasses into his hand and poured them both a drink.

“Of course. But let’s not be animals about it.”

Doflamingo threw back his head and laughed. He accepted the wine glass.

On the submarine, Law often felt his body was too tall and lanky for the cramped space, especially since Jean Bart had joined the crew. But next to Doflamingo, Law felt small again, perpetually that ten-year-old child whom Doflamingo could pick up like a ragdoll or snap like a twig any time he liked. His legs splayed over the windowsill, and across from him, Doflamingo dwarfed him like a warship, like royalty, like power. The waning light glinted off his sunglasses as he studied Law, as unreadable as his perpetual grin.

It was frustrating, to be so at another’s mercy. But because it was Doflamingo, it was alright. There was nowhere in the world he felt so safe, so entirely understood, as in this man’s hold. He was not ashamed to admit that he’d missed this.

“You’ve been making a name for yourself in the New World,” Doflamingo chuckled, swishing the wine in his glass. “It’s always fun to meet with the World Government these days. They tell me about the latest chaos you’ve made, and it makes me feel like a proud parent.” He leaned forward. “What are you looking for out there, Law?”

Law smiled up at him, perfectly at ease. “To destroy the world. Same as you.”

“And you can’t do it by my side?”

Law’s smile dimmed. They’d had this conversation before, back when a teenage Law had first declared his intention to find his own crew and explore the seas himself. Half a conversation, really, done mostly through silences. Neither of them was the type to talk about things.

“No. That hasn’t changed. I’ll enact your will whenever you need me, but I have to see this world on my own.” To prove himself capable. To have fun while he still could. To enact his vengeance in _his _way, not Doflamingo’s. And another reason, one more difficult to articulate.

Doflamingo grinned. “Still so rebellious. Well, far be it from me to take away your dream.” He drained his wine and poured himself another glass.

It was one of the King’s many great acts of kindness. They both understood that Law’s dream was just a fantasy—a toy, a distraction, until the day came when the dream had to end. Law was intensely grateful for it.

“If you’re not back to sit on the Heart seat, why have you returned, Law?” Doflamingo asked. “The last time we spoke, if I recall, was at the Summit War.”

Yes. The war. Law had fought alongside Doflamingo for most of it. He’d just been to Sabaody Archipelago and pissed off one of the Admirals, so he figured he’d make up for it by helping out the marines this once. For the Family’s sake. Doflamingo had been happy to see him—at first, anyways.

“At the war, there was a pirate named Monkey D. Luffy,” Law said. “I saved his life.”

Doflamingo’s grin widened. “Akainu almost erupted in my face because of what you did. Yes, I remember.”

Law drummed his fingers on his arm. His nerves were suddenly thrumming with anxiety. Doflamingo hadn’t asked why he had abandoned the fight to save the other pirate, hadn’t mentioned it at all. But Law had a sense that Doflamingo was angry about it. Law would never admit it, but he had possibly been avoiding Doflamingo for the past two years out of dread.

But he couldn’t run away from the burning question in his mind anymore.

“The Strawhat Pirates are active again,” Law said. “Monkey D. Luffy was seen recently at Sabaody Archipelago. They’ve probably entered the New World by now.”

Doflamingo grinned, unreadable. “Oh?” His teeth flashed in the sunset.

He waited for Law to continue, watching him. Coiled like a predatory beast, waiting to ambush his prey. Law’s heart pounded.

“Do you know what the D. in his name means?” he asked.

Doflamingo didn’t move for several long beats. “Why do you ask?” he finally replied. The tone of his voice screamed a warning at Law: _think carefully before you speak. _“Names are a funny thing, every island does them differently.”

Law met his eyes. “It’s not a coincidence,” he pressed. “It has to mean something. I’ve seen it in others—Gol D. Roger, Marshall D. Teach, Portgas D. Ace. And now Monkey D. Luffy. That’s not an ordinary lineup.”

“True,” Doflamingo agreed. “But what does it matter to you? Did you disobey me and risk your life just because of an initial in a stranger’s name?”

“No,” he said, a little too quickly, “I didn’t mean to disobey. The war was over, anyways, Roger’s son and Whitebeard were already dead. It’s just because I met Strawhat at Sabaody, and I found him interesting. I thought it would be a shame if he died there, that’s all. And now that he’s back, I…” Law drummed his fingers, but couldn’t find an explanation beyond the simple truth. “I just want to know. I thought you might have answers.”

Law waited, tense, as Doflamingo seemed to examine that explanation for flaws, for signs of weakness or betrayal. At last, his grin softened a fraction, and Law relaxed.

“You’ve always been so perceptive,” he said. “Yes, it’s a superstition some have. They call it the Will of D, sworn enemy of the gods.” He turned to look out at Dressrosa, bathed fiery red in the last few minutes of the day. “When I was a child, it was a story people used to tell: ‘D will bring forth another storm.’”

Law felt a twinge of pain in his chest.

It was something that happened to him sometimes, especially on the island of Dressrosa. Out of nowhere, a feeling would come over him, this vague and troubling sense of anxiety, of nausea, of missing something important. He would feel ghostly pangs. It was clearly psychosomatic, and the symptoms resembled those from post-traumatic stress. Law had a theory that something in the country’s air resembled Flevance, or Spider Miles, and the smell of it made his body think it was suffering the Amber Lead poisoning again. As if his body was remembering something horrible, even after his mind had forgotten and moved on.

Whatever the reason, Law couldn’t tell anyone about it. What was the point? He ignored it, instead, and visited Dressrosa as little as possible. A quiet voice inside of him whispered, _Do not tell Doflamingo your secret name. Keep it safe. Keep it hidden. _And Law listened to the voice, even though he didn’t know why. He saw Strawhat’s wanted poster, and the voice whispered, _That name. It’s important. _That same voice was now saying, _D will bring forth another storm. You know this. You’ve heard those words before._

“Nothing to worry your clever head about,” Doflamingo said, breaking into Law’s musings. “So long as you remember what family you belong to.” He smiled indulgently at Law. “You can do as you please. But what will you do if Strawhat gets in my way, _mi coraz__ón_?”

The endearment made something in Law tremble. He didn’t know the language, but there were traces of emotion in the words that reminded him of his father, of all the hollow pieces in himself that should have died so long ago. Doflamingo had found the Ope Ope Fruit, had torn it from the hands of other pirates and the marines, and then had freely given it to _Law_. This nobody kid with a vendetta against the world. And for what? It wasn’t pity—more like a sense of kinship. They understood each other, they had the same goals. Law owed his entirety to Doflamingo. And yet he asked so little back from Law; only his life, a mere pittance, like a loan being collected at the end of the day. And then an immortal Doflamingo would become the Pirate King, and he would destroy the rotten world with his madness, and Law would be laughing from Hell.

In that moment Law loved Doflamingo entirely, violently, with an overwhelming need to do something—_anything_—that would prove his devotion.

“For you, Doffy?” Law said, smiling back. “I’ll make Strawhat wish he were dead.”

* * *

Somewhere in the New World, on a barren island made of ice and fire, a pirate picked up a toy.


End file.
